Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story

Images

Faron Young, six months old. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) H. R. and Doris Young, Faron’s parents, in front of their Shreveport home, date unknown. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Faron and his high school girlfriend Carole Wickes on their way to the homecoming game, Thanksgiving Day, 1950. Fair Park High School defeated Byrd High School 35–13. (Courtesy of Carole Wickes Thompson) Faron Young and Theodore “Teddy” Wilburn, Class of 1951, Fair Park High School. (1951 Sequoyah, Milburne’s Studios) Faron singing on the Grand Ole Opry after an introduction by Ernest Tubb. This was probably Faron’s first Opry appearance, June 14, 1952. (Courtesy of Grannis Photography) Faron dressed as a Capitol Records recording artist, with his Circle A Wranglers band, Christmas 1953. Left to right: Ken Woodfin, Roy Lunn, Faron, Don Wendell, and Gordon Terry. (U.S. Army photo; courtesy of Roy Lunn) PFC Faron Young and the Circle A Wranglers during an appearance at Fort McClellan, Alabama, around 1953. Left to right: PFC Ken Woodfin, Corporal Gordon Terry, Maj. James Piteri (Special Services officer), Roger Milroy (executive director of the Anniston Chamber of Commerce), Faron, and PFC Roy Lunn. (U.S. Army photo; courtesy of Marjorie Collins) Relaxing in a Sioux City hotel room after a show, December 1954. Left to right: Teddy Wilburn, Faron, Gordon Terry, and friend Robert Williams. (Courtesy of Sharon Williams Stich) Wedding photo of Faron Young and Hilda Macon, Fort McPherson, Georgia, July 1, 1954. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) PFC Faron Young with his bride, Hilda, in front of their apartment near Fort McPherson, Georgia, July 1954. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Hubert Long, Hilda, and Faron being greeted upon their arrival in Hawaii, March 1958. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Grand Ole Opry stars on the steps of New York City Hall, November 28, 1961. Left to right: Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl, Faron, Bill Monroe, and Pasty Cline, holding their keys to the city. (Photo by Les Leverett) Faron’s first bus. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Faron and his Country Deputies, onstage at Wayne High School, Wayne, Michigan, May 13, 1962. Left to right: Ben Keith, Odell Martin, Faron, Darrell McCall, and Jerry Wayne “Cootie” Hunley. (Photo by Virgie Warren) The Young family in their Hillsboro Road home, 1965. Left to right: Kevin, Faron, Robin, Damion, and Hilda. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Alana Young with her 1985 Pontiac Trans Am, purchased by Faron to commemorate her sixteenth birthday. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Faron on his houseboat The Sheriff with friend Alan Earle, September 12, 1980. (Photo by Jean Earle) Faron and Hilda in Faron’s office, May 1982, reunited after their five-year separation. (Photo by Jean Earle) Faron hugging his sister Dorothy Young, around 1982. (Courtesy of Hilda Young) Faron receiving “Tex Ritter” award at the International Fan Club Organization Fun Fest Show, June 8, 1983, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville. Left to right: Loudilla Johnson, Faron, Loretta Johnson, and Kay Johnson. (Photo by Hope Powell; courtesy of International Fan Club Organization) Faron with Campan Charles (“Big Willie”) at the Jimmy C. Newman farm, November 1984. Willie Nelson gave Faron this purebred Simmental bull to repay a 1961 debt of borrowing $500 against the royalties of “Hello Walls.” Their longstanding joke was that Faron told Willie to “fatten a steer for me” when he could afford it. (Photo by Frank Oakley) Willie Nelson joins Faron performing at Nelson’s 1984 Fourth of July Picnic in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Neil Pond) Faron with author, on Faron’s bus after a concert in Chesapeake, Virginia, May 22, 1987. (Author’s Collection) Faron with daughter Farianne, June 1973. (Courtesy of LaRue Moore) ...